A lunch box is supposed to be a comforting, convenient item that helps you carry your sustenance with you wherever you go. However, there is something unnerving and jarring about carrying a disposable lunch box. Apart from being flimsy and ugly, these boxes tend to be made of materials that are unhealthy for you and the planet earth as a whole. Even worse, buying things only to throw them away after one use produces a feeling of wastefulness and irresponsibility in most people. Mainly for those reasons, reusable lunch boxes have made a fantastic comeback over the past ten or so years. Throughout this article, I will go in-depth into this subject. Additionally, I will provide some useful information that will help you choose the right reusable lunch box for your needs.
Why Use a Reusable Lunch Box?
There are two main reasons why you should use a reusable lunch box: Health and ecologic responsibility. Up next, I will go in-depth into these two points.
Reducing Toxic Chemical Exposure
Unfortunately, disposable lunch boxes are made of cheap materials that, more often than not, are harmful to your body. Of course, that wouldn’t be a problem if you could just avoid ingesting these materials. Sadly, though, that is easier said than done. Typically, disposable materials such as styrofoam, cheap plastics, cardboard, and others are composed of minuscule particles. Due to contact with the food and natural movement, it’s unavoidable that some of these particles will become loose. After that, it is very likely that they will become stuck to your food. Then, you will ingest them without even noticing. If this happens, you will become gradually poisoned in a phenomenon referred to as toxic chemical exposure.
As you can imagine, the only way to avoid becoming affected by toxic chemical exposure is to avoid eating from dangerous materials. Without a doubt, the best way to do so is to use reusable utensils, plates and, of course, lunch boxes. Typically, these objects are made of tough, durable and often natural materials that do not release harmful chemical particles or fumes. Even better, they can be washed, heated and used over and over without losing structural integrity. For those reasons, reusable lunch boxes are a much healthier choice than disposable ones.
Reducing Environmental Pollution
The second main benefit of using reusable lunch boxes is that the practice is a lot healthier for the environment than its alternative. As I stated earlier, more often than not, the materials used to make disposable lunch boxes are not safe for human consumption. More than that, though, they are unsafe for animal and plant consumption, and they can pollute both the air and the soil.
Even if you use disposable lunch boxes that are not made with toxic chemicals, you can only use them once (or twice, at most) before they need to be thrown away. Accumulation of garbage is one of the biggest and most dangerous threats that the environment has to face. Think about it: Every time you buy a disposable lunch box product, you are directly contributing to a problem that could mean the demise of the only planet we have got. Again, reusable lunch boxes are a fantastic solution to this problem. If you treat it with care, a good lunch box will never have to be thrown away.
Additional Benefits of Reusable Lunch Boxes
We have already been over the main benefits of reusable lunch boxes. However, there are some smaller secondary benefits that need to be mentioned as well. They are as follows:
Practicality and Convenience
At first, it may seem that the most practical and convenient way to carry your lunch with you is by using disposable boxes. Without a doubt, buying these boxes can be easier than buying a reusable one. However, the fact that you can’t use disposable boxes more than once means that you will have to continue buying them for the rest of your life. Apart from the hassle that is having to go to the store regularly to buy this type of box, there is the problem of disposing of it after it has been used.
Instead, think of the simplicity of having a reusable lunch box. All you have to do is wash it after every use and you will have it ready to be used. There is no need to buy anything or go anywhere. In addition to being at-hand at all times, a good reusable lunch box is a lot more durable and resistant than a disposable one. As a result, even if you drop it, bump it or anything else, it can continue to be used. That is a huge difference from what happens with the average disposable lunch box, which can easily become damaged and unusable due to a small accident.
Saving Money
Yes, disposable lunch boxes are a lot cheaper than reusable ones. However, their price adds up faster than you can imagine. If you save up the money that you would otherwise spend in disposable boxes, you will likely have enough to buy a high-quality reusable one in only a few months. Think about it: Would you rather make a single payment of ten to thirty dollars or thousands of small payments for the rest of your life? Without a doubt, a reusable lunch box is a sound investment.
Taste and Smell
Another great advantage of reusable boxes is that they don’t alter the taste of your food. Generally, these items are made of natural materials such as glass, metal, wood, bamboo, and others. Due to their organic structure, these materials do not release miniature particles or fumes that could make your food taste and smell badly. In contrast, disposable lunch boxes tend to produce unpleasant smells and release miniature particles that, in addition to slowly poisoning your body, can alter the taste of your food.
Protection
Last but not least, reusable lunch boxes are a lot more protective than disposable ones. Being made of tough, durable materials instead of flimsy, insubstantial ones like cardboard or cheap plastic, reusable lunch boxes are capable of resisting impact, pressure and other external forces. In addition, many of these lunch boxes are waterproof, rust-proof, mold-proof and so on. Taking all that into account, it’s easy to see how a reusable lunch box is better at keeping your food protected and delicious.
What to Look For in a Reusable Lunch Box
Ease of Cleaning
In order to be reused, a lunch box needs to be properly washed and cleaned. If it isn’t, bacteria may form over time, potentially causing disease apart from generating unpleasant odors. With that in mind, it’s very important that you choose a model that does not present difficulties or problems when it comes to cleaning it.
Capacity
Depending on how much food you normally carry, you should choose a reusable lunch box of appropriate capacity. Generally speaking, the more capacity, the better. However, the more capacity a product has, the larger it is. As you can imagine, having a lunch box that is unreasonably large can hinder your ability to carry it comfortably.
Security
Because you will be carrying it around, you need a lunch box that is secure and safe. Make sure that its lid can be closed tightly and efficiently. Additionally, make sure that no amount of liquid spills out of the box once it is closed. If you want to take the security of your food to the next level, though, you can also get a lunch box with a lock.
Sections
Many lunch boxes feature sections or compartments that allow you to keep different food items separate from each other. Without a doubt, this is very useful for carrying certain types of foods that are composed of various separate items. Before deciding on a specific reusable lunch box, make sure that it has enough sections or compartments.
Style
Undeniably, the most important things that a lunch box can offer are functionality, security, and health. Once you have all that, though, you should look at the product’s style. After all, it’s something that you will carry around regularly, so why not choose a model that goes with your personality and sense of style. To make this easier for you, some brands even offer different colors, patterns, and designs for their reusable lunch box models.
Ease of Storage
When you are not using it, you should always keep your reusable lunch box in a suitable storage space. In order to make this easier, look for a product that is compact, lightweight and easy to store. More often than not, boxes whose design is based on geometric shapes tend to be the easiest to store.
Portability
More likely than not, you will be carrying your lunch box from your home to your workplace on a regular basis. For that reason, it’s important to choose a product that is portable. The most important factors that determine a lunch box’s portability are size and weight.
In Conclusion
With everything on the table, it’s easy to see why using a reusable lunch box is such a well-advised thing to do. If you are concerned about your health, the health of your loved ones and the well-being of the planet, using this type of product is an absolute must. Hopefully, the information provided in this article will convince you of that, and it will help you choose the right reusable lunch box for your particular needs.
Images: pexels.com; pixabay.com
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